A Study of Jarom 1

Jarom, writing upon the small plates of Nephi, decides not to record his prophesies or revelations, citing that what previous writers had written was sufficient in his mind.

And as these plates are small, and as these things are written for the intent of the benefit of our brethren the Lamanites, wherefore, it must needs be that I write a little; but I shall not write the things of my prophesying, nor of my revelations. For what could I write more than my fathers have written? For have not they revealed the plan of salvation? I say unto you, Yea; and this sufficeth me. (Jarom 1:2)

Then, in verse three, Jarom says the following about the Nephites:

Behold, it is expedient that much should be done among this people, because of the hardness of their hearts, and the deafness of their ears, and the blindness of their minds, and the stiffness of their necks; nevertheless, God is exceedingly merciful unto them, and has not as yet swept them off from the face of the land. (Jarom 1:3)

Jarom calls the Nephites hard-hearted, deaf, blind, and stiffnecked.  Not exactly the most desirable qualities to have, but God is merciful and allows them to remain on the land.  Jarom goes on to say that there were many who were not stiffnecked and that those who were not stiffnecked enjoyed revelations and communion with the Holy Spirit (see verse 4).  After two hundred years had passed from the time that Lehi left Jerusalem, the Nephites had “waxed strong in the land”. (v 5)

I find it interesting that Jarom then says this:

They observed to keep the law of Moses and the sabbath day holy unto the Lord. And they profaned not; neither did they blaspheme. And the laws of the land were exceedingly strict. (v 5)

Can you keep the law of Moses and the sabbath day holy unto the Lord and still be hard-hearted, deaf, blind, and stiffnecked. Apparently, you can. This is the situation that Jarom is describing. The Nephites hadn’t completely rejected those things that were holy. They were “doing”. They were performing “works”. But something was obviously wrong enough wth the condition of their hearts for Jarom to have said what he did about the Nephites back in verse 3.  Let’s dig a little deeper.

Jarom mentions that both the Nephites and the Lamanites were scattered all over the face of the land, though the Lamanites were more numerous than the Nephites. He describes the Lamanites as a blood-thirsty people who would come against the Nephites in battle (see verses 6-7).  Jarom explains that the Nephites were able to withstand the Lamanites because the Nephite kings and leaders “...were mighty men in the faith of the Lord; and they taught the people the ways of the Lord”.  (v 7)  They fortified their cities and lands and became a very prosperous people:

8 And we multiplied exceedingly, and spread upon the face of the land, and became exceedingly rich in gold, and in silver, and in precious things, and in fine workmanship of wood, in buildings, and in machinery, and also in iron and copper, and brass and steel, making all manner of tools of every kind to till the ground, and weapons of war—yea, the sharp pointed arrow, and the quiver, and the dart, and the javelin, and all preparations for war.
9 And thus being prepared to meet the Lamanites, they did not prosper against us. But the word of the Lord was verified, which he spake unto our fathers, saying that: Inasmuch as ye will keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land.

Can you be hard-hearted, deaf, blind, and stiffnecked, and still materially prosper?  Apparently, you can, if you have righteous leaders. But is this sustainable?

10 And it came to pass that the prophets of the Lord did threaten the people of Nephi, according to the word of God, that if they did not keep the commandments, but should fall into transgression, they should be destroyed from off the face of the land.

Why would the prophets of the Lord feel the need to “threaten the people of Nephi according to the word of God”?  Prosperous people don’t fall into transgression, do they? Yes, they do.

11 Wherefore, the prophets, and the priests, and the teachers, did labor diligently, exhorting with all long-suffering the people to diligence; teaching the law of Moses, and the intent for which it was given; persuading them to look forward unto the Messiah, and believe in him to come as though he already was. And after this manner did they teach them.
12 And it came to pass that by so doing they kept them from being destroyed upon the face of the land; for they did prick their hearts with the word, continually stirring them up unto repentance.

Here we see the need for prophets, priests, and teachers who “...labor diligently, exhorting with all long-suffering the people to diligence”.  Not only did they teach the law of Moses, but also the intent of the law. They persuaded the people to look forward to the Messiah and believe in him. Jarom tells us in verse 12 that “by so doing” the teachers kept the Nephites from being destroyed—that with “the word” the teachers pricked the hearts of the people and stirred them up to repentance continually.

So here are a few questions to ponder:

• How important is it to know of and believe in the Messiah in order for a society to have lasting peace and happiness?
• What happens when prophets, priests, and teachers don’t teach people the correct intent of the laws that God gives to us?
• What happens when they don’t even teach the law itself?
• What happens when kings and leaders aren’t “mighty men in the faith of the Lord”? 
• What happens when people enjoy a measure of prosperity, but aren’t taught to rely upon God and to be continually repentant and obedient?
• How difficult is it to try to teach people who think that they are keeping God’s laws, but don’t realize that they are actually hard-hearted, deaf, blind, and stiffnecked (let alone to try to teach those who don’t even care to keep God’s laws)?

The Reason Why Christ Was (And We Are) Baptized

Why was Christ baptized?

5 And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!
6 And now, I would ask of you, my beloved brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did fulfil all righteousness in being baptized by water?
7 Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments. (2 Nephi 31)

I have heard people use this scripture to explain that the reason why we are baptized is to have our sins washed away and that we have to have our sins washed away in this manner because we are so much more sinful than Christ.  But this isn’t why Christ was baptized, and it isn’t the reason why we are baptized, either.

Nephi tells us in plainness why Christ was baptized. He was baptized “to fulfill all righteousness”, to “humbleth Himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments.”  Christ was not baptized in water to be cleansed of any sin. Water baptism, by itself, does not cleanse any person from his sins. It didn’t for Christ and it doesn’t for us, either. It was a commandment from the Father that stood as a witness that Christ would be obedient to all of God’s commandments.

But, wait!  Was Christ’s life before his baptism rebellious or sinful in any way? No, it wasn’t. He had already demonstrated perfect obedience to God. He, being holy, didn’t need a singular event like a water baptism to mark the point in his life at which he would begin to be obedient.  Christ submits to baptism because it is a commandment from the Father and He obeys ALL of the Father’s commandments.

We, on the other hand, being unholy, rebel and commit sin pretty regularly. The Father commands us to be baptized to demonstrate that we are willing to submit to his commands. What better way to proclaim publicly that we are willing to obey God’s commands than to actually obey one of His commands? It is an act of submission, faith, trust, obedience, and humility. It marks the point at which we become willing to “...follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ...”. (2 Nephi 31:13)  We “follow the Son” when we enter the waters of baptism with same conditions of the heart—the same “full purpose of heart”, the same lack of hypocrisy, the same lack of deception before God, and the same “real intent”— that Christ had when He was baptized.

Christ was baptized because he is obedient to all of God’s commands and we should be baptized once we are willing to obey all of God’s commands, too.

A Few Thoughts About the Book of Mormon

This post is about the Book of Mormon. Please don’t just skip over this post after reading that first sentence.  I know that some out there might not want to have anything to do with the Book of Mormon, but stay with me for just a few minutes.

First of all, please don’t make the assumption that by promoting the Book of Mormon I am somehow promoting the idea that one should be baptized into the Mormon church. Nothing could be further from the truth. Historically, the Book of Mormon pre-dates the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And while the LDS organization has been a vehicle by which many people have been introduced to the Book of Mormon, it has largely missed out on the opportunity to boldly proclaim the book’s central teachings. The Book of Mormon’s message is independent of the LDS organization. In fact, one could make a strong argument that a student of the Book of Mormon would do well to distance himself from many current LDS teachings in order to understand it correctly, but that’s a post for a later date.

Secondly, I wish to assert that any true believer of the Bible should have no problem believing (and certainly not, at least, investigating) the Book of Mormon. I live in the Bible Belt and I am completely floored by how many people will not open it up and investigate its contents. But I understand why. For many, there is an assumption that an acceptance of the Book of Mormon also means an acceptance of the LDS church’s teachings. Hopefully, I alleviated any concerns stemming from that assumption by what I said in the first paragraph, but, if I didn’t, allow me to share a quote from a book that I have recommended elsewhere on this blog:

Though many fear the Book of Mormon, an honest inspection of its contents will dispel any concern. It is a witness of Jesus Christ. It does not contradict the Bible. Believing in it does not require one to be Mormon any more than believing in the Bible requires one to be Catholic. (Seek Ye This Jesus, p 10)

Here is a link to an easily readable version of the Book of Mormon. If you have never been invited to read the Book of Mormon, I extend that invitation to you now.  If you have been invited to read the Book of Mormon but declined the opportunity to do so, I would like to re-invite you.  If you have read the Book of Mormon, I invite you to read it again “as a little child”, for its truths are to only be received by those who humble themselves as little children. Here are some of the main reasons why I think you should:

1.  It testifies that Jesus is the Christ and that his atoning sacrifice laid the foundation upon which men may be saved from death and hell.
2.  It testifies that all mankind must undergo a change in their natures and be born of God in order to enjoy the blessings of the Spirit of God.
3.  It testifies of the doctrine of Christ which consists of faith, repentance, baptism by water, a remission of one’s sins by fire and the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end under the same conditions of heart that brought about the remission of one’s sins in the first place.
4.  It testifies that Christ manifests himself to all nations and that by adhering to the doctrine of Christ an individual may obtain a manifestation of Christ for himself while in the flesh.
5.  It testifies that an individual “may know the truth of all things” by the power of the Holy Ghost.
6.  It testifies that the Lord has made covenants with the house of Israel that he has not forgotten and that he will surely keep.
7.  It testifies of the scattering of Israel, that the Lord had his hand in that scattering, and that it (a) was the means by which the gospel of Jesus Christ could be delivered to the Gentiles, and (b) was the means by which the covenants made to the house of Israel could be kept.
8.  It testifies of the blessings given to those who obey God’s commandments and who put into practice his teachings.
9.  It testifies of the consequences of unrighteousness—that both individuals and societies suffer undesirable consequences (including destruction) as a result of disobedience to the laws instituted by God for the express purpose of obtaining happiness.
10.  It testifies of latter-day conditions and events that empower disciples of Christ to be more knowledgeable and more effective servants in his kingdom.
11.  It testifies of plans and tactics used by the adversary to bring about the downfall of individuals and nations, and how to recognize these things and overcome them.
12.  It testifies, specifically, of the designs of wicked men in positions of societal, legal, economic, religious, military, and governmental power, and how these designs were the cause of the destruction of more than one civilization.

I could list many more.

The Bible testifies of all of these things!  I don’t understand how Bible-believing individuals can reject the Book of Mormon (without even reading it, in many cases). Nephi, the first writer in the Book of Mormon, said this:

And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew, and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good.

I testify that the Book of Mormon is scripture. It is an additional witness to all of the truths that I listed above and many more. It is a companion to the Bible. So much of what God is doing in our day has its basis in what God promised to righteous men and women long ago. Anyone who claims that the Bible contains all that we need to know regarding God’s interaction with the human family does not understand the full extents of his mercy, patience, kindness, love, and grace.  A reader of the Book of Mormon will receive a confirmation of its truthfulness if he humbly asks God with the intent to act upon the truths contained in it. IT IS SO NEEDED FOR OUR DAY!  IT IS SO NEEDED FOR WHAT IS TO COME! I encourage any and all to soberly consider its contents.

"Seek Ye This Jesus" by Robert Smith

About two and a half years ago, I was given the opportunity to record an audiobook. It was a great blessing in my life, for many reasons. The book is entitled “Seek Ye This Jesus” and it is written by Robert Smith. You can find print and Kindle versions on Amazon. You can also find the free ebook and audiobook versions at the author’s website, www.upwardthought.blogspot.com.

Studying the scriptures is analogous to panning for gold. The Bible and the Book of Mormon are full of stories of faithful saints throughout history, and the events retold in their pages are fascinating, entertaining, inspiring, and sobering, but we have to sift through those stories to find the valuable information that pertains to our salvation. Scattered among these stories are principles that are “gospel gold”.  They are found in both large chunks and the smallest of flecks, but they are there.

I told a dear friend of mine that what the author did in writing “Seek Ye This Jesus” is akin to refining gold. He took many of the most pertinent scriptures regarding one’s salvation, organized them into a simple, pure, and elementary form, and handed them to the reader in an easily understandable book.  The information in “Seek Ye This Jesus” would normally take an individual years of study to acquire. I know this to be true from personal experience. The work is an act of mercy on the Lord’s part directed towards men and women from all walks of life who are honestly seeking for truth.

In the Book of Mormon, Alma the Younger once declared:


1 O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!
2 Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth. (Alma 29)


I know exactly how Alma felt. I had the same wish. And the Lord granted me the opportunity to be voice for a book that teaches repentance and the plan of redemption.  Alma also said:


“I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.” (Alma 29:9)


I invite and encourage anyone trying to be an honest disciple of Christ to read “Seek Ye This Jesus”.  May we all “repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth.”

Another Perspective on the Hosanna Shout

The announcement by the leaders of the LDS church of a Hosanna shout during the Sunday morning session of the April 2020 conference was probably met with much excitement and anticipation by most members of the church.  For me, personally, that was not the case.

The Lord told me a few years ago that the times of the Gentiles were coming to an end.  If you don’t know what that means, I highly recommend that it become a matter of intense and focused study. Since then, He has been showing me just how ineffectual many (if not most) of the things we believe as a church are NOT from Him.  They are vain and empty.  They do not lead to the promised results, and all the while we are none the wiser as we continue to engage in works that are truly dead and lead to death and misery.

While scrolling through some Facebook posts yesterday, I came across a friend's post that spread the word about the Hosanna shout.  It had the following image:

As I scrolled past that post, the Lord asked me how long it was after this event that the Jews rejected Him and the realization that it was only days after that that they rejected Him weighed heavily on my heart.

During today’s conference session, the Lord taught me more. He taught me that the Jews who were shouting, “Hosanna!” had already rejected Him. They had already rejected Him because, in their minds, they thought that they were shouting to an individual who was going to save them politically. They didn’t KNOW Him and they didn’t understand His purposes and that is why, only days later, they called for his crucifixion.

The word “hosanna” is a cry and plea for salvation. When the Jews welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem, it was intended to be a shout of praise and adoration because the Jews were assuming that Jesus would save them. They thought that they were on the brink of salvation from their political enemies. Instead, it became a curse upon their heads because they didn’t understand that while salvation was, indeed, right before them, they were not willing to accept it in the form that it took. Their rejection led to their destruction.

The modern-day LDS church has done the exact same thing. The scriptures outline how the Lord will remember Israel and any serious student of the scriptures who has taken the Spirit as their guide will reach the conclusion that the LDS church is not following that outline. Today’s Hosanna shout is mockery before God because it assumes that the Lord is with us and that He will save us from what is to come when we are clearly acting in opposition to, and have rejected, the instructions that He has given us. And, like the Jews, we will eventually be destroyed for that rejection.

How Great Shall Be Your Joy

If you haven't read my post about repentance, I recommend you do that.  But if you decide not to, let me just make a few points before I dive into this post.

It has been my experience that repentance is a very misunderstood concept. Most people believe that repentance is a process in which we feel remorse for sinful things that we have done, go to God for forgiveness, and commit to refrain from doing the behavior in the future. And while repentance certainly includes these things, this concept of repentance is analogous to trying to rip out some weeds by plucking a couple of leaves off the plant. It doesn't work.  The weed grows back because the roots are still intact.  If you really want to permanently get rid of the weed, you have to get rid of the whole thing--roots and all.

Our actions are based upon what we believe--what we think and how we think.  We have difficulty changing our behavior to the extent that we refuse to change what we believe.  When we humble ourselves before God, we recognize that he knows more than we do and we submit to his guidance and instruction.  As we submit, he is able to inform us.  He tells us about things that we didn't know before.  He explains things to us in greater detail.  The new information that we receive is more reliable than the information we believed before and it empowers us to change our behavior in a lasting way.

For most of my life, I believed in an incorrect concept of repentance. Since coming to understand repentance better, I have had a greater appreciation for the following scripture:

"Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people.

And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!" (D&C 18:14-15)

Preaching repentance is rough! It's rough because, first of all, you have to find people who recognize that they need to repent.  When you start preaching repentance, it is shocking to realize how many people don't fall into this category.  Even after you find the few who do, it quickly becomes apparent that most of those people are more interested in only changing a few superficial behaviors as opposed to radically changing foundational beliefs.  Because foundational beliefs affect more than just one or two behaviors, some are reluctant to get rid of their beliefs because there are still a few behaviors they aren't willing to let go of.  They are only interested in cutting a few leaves, as opposed to pulling the whole weed out by its roots.

Because true repentance is so rare, this scripture has recently taken on a depth of meaning that I really didn’t understand before. You can, literally, labor all your days crying repentance and you can have so little success that just one soul’s repentance would bring you an indescribable amount of joy.

The Sword of Justice Dream

I saw the northern hemisphere from above the earth. The surface, however, looked like a meteorological map. I saw clouds forming in the north which spread and covered much of the earth at an alarming rate. I heard rain falling and wind blowing which got louder and louder as the clouds on the earth got closer and closer to where we were. When the sounds became very loud, I saw a bright purple shaft of light form directly above the earth which I understood to be a sword of justice. I also saw the word "Angel" appear near the sword almost as if it was labeling something on the map that I was not quite able to see. The sword fell and struck the earth with tremendous force and with a great crack of thunder and flash of lightening. It caused a massive earthquake to roll through the terrain of the earth very quickly. When it approached our location, I felt the earth roll underneath my body which was sleeping on the bed. The motion of the earth underneath my body was so real that I wondered if the vision was something in the future or if it was actually happening as it unfolded in my mind. The awareness of my body and the perceived reality also made me aware of [my two youngest children] who were on my bed and I began to fear for them at which point the vision ended.